Are you wondering who killed Sarah in The Amateur? This has left audiences questioning everything they thought they knew about the story. While Rami Malek’s performance delivers emotional depth, it’s the film’s shocking CIA twist that turns heads. As fans try to understand what happened to Sarah Heller, the truth behind her death reveals a darker conspiracy—one that redefines Charlie Heller’s mission.
Here’s who killed Sarah in The Amateur and how Charlie exposes the CIA in the film’s climax.
Who killed Charlie’s wife Sarah in The Amateur?
Sarah Heller was killed by a mercenary group led by Sean Schiller during a hostage situation at a London bank.
According to Sean, they killed Sarah to prove to the police that they were willing to execute hostages unless given a clean escape route.” Although the mercenaries occasionally worked with the CIA, the agency was not involved in the specific mission that led to Sarah’s death. As seen in the reports Charlie uncovers, the mercenaries were at the bank for a job that went wrong and took Sarah as a hostage in their escape attempt.
In contrast to the original novel and 1981 film adaptation—where the CIA ordered Sarah’s death to plant a double agent—the 2025 version frames her killing as a tragic consequence of an independent mercenary operation. The film confirms the CIA slowed the investigation into Sarah’s killers due to their connections but did not orchestrate her murder.
How does Charlie expose the CIA at the end of The Amateur?
Charlie exposes the CIA’s internal conspiracy by capturing Sean Schiller alive and using his arrest to trigger an international investigation. He remotely piloted Sean’s escape boat out of international waters, allowing Interpol to detain him and link him to covert CIA operations.
His plan reveals a covert operation orchestrated by CIA Deputy Director Alex Moore, who conducted false flag attacks and used mercenaries for illegal missions.
Charlie also secures Moore’s arrest by ensuring physical and digital evidence of these operations reaches Interpol. Although Moore is detained along with his right-hand man, other involved CIA operatives appear to escape accountability.
